1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a leveling structure and, more particularly, to a tile leveling structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional tile leveling structure in accordance with the prior art shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a base 10, an adjusting plate 11 integrally formed on and extending upward from the base 10, a oneway toothed rack 13 mounted on the adjusting plate 11 and located adjacent to the top end 12 of the adjusting plate 11, and a leveling member 20 movably mounted on the adjusting plate 11. The base 10 and the adjusting plate 11 have a connection formed with a breaking point 14. The adjusting plate 11 is made of plastic material with resilience and flexibility. The leveling member 20 has a hollow inside and has an upper end provided with an operation face 21 and a lower end provided with an abutting face 22. The operation face 21 of the leveling member 20 is provided with a through hole 23 allowing passage of the adjusting plate 11, with the top end 12 of the adjusting plate 11 protruding outward from the through hole 23 of the operation face 21. The through hole 23 of the operation face 21 has two sides each provided with a oneway ratchet toothed portion 24 meshing with the oneway toothed rack 13 of the adjusting plate 11.
In operation, cement is applied on the ground. Then, a first tile “P1” is placed on the cement. Then, the base 10 is placed on the cement, with a first side of the base 10 being inserted between the first tile “P1” and the cement. Then, a second tile “P2” is placed on the cement, with a second side of the base 10 being sandwiched between the second tile “P2” and the cement. In such a manner, the second tile “P2” is juxtaposed to the first tile “P1”. Then, the leveling member 20 is mounted on the adjusting plate 11, with the top end 12 of the adjusting plate 11 passing through the through hole 23 of the leveling member 20, and with the oneway ratchet toothed portion 24 of the leveling member 20 meshing with the oneway toothed rack 13 of the adjusting plate 11. Then, a pair of pulling pliers are placed on the operation face 21 of the leveling member 20 and clamps the adjusting plate 11. Then, the pulling pliers are operated successively to pull the adjusting plate 11 and to push the operation face 21 of the leveling member 20 so as to move the leveling member 20 downward as indicated by arrows “L1” shown in FIG. 2, so that the leveling member 20 is moved toward the base 10 until the abutting face 22 of the leveling member 20 abuts the first tile “P1” and the second tile “P2”. At this time, the oneway ratchet toothed portion 24 of the leveling member 20 meshes with the oneway toothed rack 13 of the adjusting plate 11 to prevent the leveling member 20 from being moved upward. Thus, the first tile “P1” and the second tile “P2” are pressed and leveled by the abutting face 22 of the leveling member 20. After the cement is dried, the operator can kick or strike the leveling member 20, to break the breaking point 14, and to detach the adjusting plate 11 from the base 10, so that the leveling member 20 and the adjusting plate 11 are removed from the first tile “P1” and the second tile “P2”. However, the operator has to operate the leveling member 20 by aid of a hand tool, thereby causing inconvenience to the operator when operating the conventional tile leveling structure. In addition, the operator needs to carry the hand tool for operating the conventional tile leveling structure, thereby causing a burden to the operator. Further, when the pulling pliers are operated to pull the adjusting plate 11 and to push the leveling member 20, the force is applied to and tolerated by the breaking point 14, so that the breaking point 14 is easily broken during operation of the pulling pliers.